Invitation to experimentation

Graphics

FULLERTON With his sling strung all the way back, Troy High School freshman Tae Kim launches the elastic glider and watches it wheel in wide circles around the gymnasium as a trio of judges tracks the time his creation spends aloft.

Unsatisfied, Kim silently snatches his glider out of the air and tries again.

Kim has six minutes and five official flights in which to achieve the greatest possible air time for the glider – one of 23 events featured at Troy's first-ever Science Olympiad Invitational held earlier this month.

The Olympiad is designed to challenge aspiring scientists through a variety of hands-on tests and events that span all disciplines of science.

Not only is it a heck of a lot of fun, but the contest reflects the essence of STEM education – the science, technology, engineering and math skills that academic and business leaders say schools need to improve to create tomorrow's scientists, said Dean Gilbert, science coordinator for the Orange County Department of Education.

“It's a perfect entry point to test the waters to see if it's something you want to set your goals for,” Gilbert said. “It allows kids to look beyond the traditional stereotypes of science and shows them that it really is solving meaningful problems and making life better for humanity.”

HONING THE TEAM

The invitational was intended as a tune-up event for the nine participating schools, which are expected to compete in this spring's county and state competitions.

Troy is a powerhouse, typically trampling regional and state competitors en route to national victories. The team has won eight U.S. titles since the first tournament in 1985.

But national gold has eluded the school since 2008 as East Coast and Midwest schools stepped up their games – often benefitting from similar invitational contests.

“Last year, we got second place, so we were pretty close,” Wahl said. “The level of the other teams has risen dramatically. A big difference is that, except in California and a couple other states, these invitationals are a big thing.”

The event provides the ideal setting to hone a team's competitive edge.

“Imagine training for a sport all throughout the year and you only have one game to play,” Wahl added. “You can kind of learn from your mistakes in these invitational competitions, and for us the competition is what it's all about. Practicing is not necessarily fun or challenging.”

Troy, Canyon High School in Anaheim and Northwood High School in Irvine were among the Orange County schools participating in the invitational. Troy fielded two teams, but did not participate in the award ceremony as it was the host school.

PLAYING WITH GRAVITY

Kim's glider design started with a beginner-level kit, available online. Then he began tinkering, altering the structure bit by bit to attain the greatest amount of air time.

“Competitions like this are more related to life,” said Kim, who went through 20 prototypes before arriving at the glider he brought to the competition.

“You don't just memorize a series of words; you try something and if it doesn't work you fix it. That's more applicable to me.”

Kim's hard work ultimately netted him a second-place finish in the event behind another Troy submission.

On the other side of the gym, Amar Bhatt and Briley Lewis, both juniors from Canyon High School, raced a gravity vehicle down a ramp and across the gymnasium floor, attempting to stop as close as possible to a pre-determined finish line 5 to 10 meters away.

The event required them to build the ramp, complete with a release mechanism to launch the unpowered vehicle.

In a nearby classroom, Troy physics teacher Thomas Mosig was overseeing the technical problem-solving event, in which teams calculated solutions for a series of problems.

The invitational was the first real taste of competition this year for Canyon High School, which placed third in the Orange County regional and 10th in the Southern California state contest last year.

“What it helped us do is to identify what events we were very well prepared for and what events we still needed to do work on,” second-year coach Barry Walsh said. “The experience is invaluable because it simulates actual events. We can't get that experience anywhere else.”

INDIVIDUAL INSPIRATION

Wahl said the Olympiad gives students an opportunity to learn more about science and to apply their knowledge through activities not found in a typical high school classroom.

“The thing I love is that you get to take a topic and really go in-depth. Kids get into certain things that they may have never have gotten into if it weren't for the Science Olympiad,” he said.

Peter Hung, a volunteer at the invitational and a graduate student at the California Institute of Technology, said he owes his love for science to the Olympiad.

“Real scientists do not go around memorizing and spilling scientific facts,” said Hung, who competed in the Olympiad while at Arcadia High School. “They do research and try to figure out how to improve whatever we have right now. All of that is very hands-on and Science Olympiad has that component.”

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